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The key to understanding this is that pO2 represents pressure, not amount, of oxygen. In a patient with CO poisoning, the amount of oxygen is reduced, but the pressure is not. Thus blood gases (pH, pCO2, pO2) without oximetry are misleading. This is a point I make regularly with pathology residents rotating through our lab.
Phil Bach, PhD
Primary Children's Medical Center
Salt Lake City, UT
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